Rugby - RFU seeking feedback on its transgender policy

[Biscuitsanddoombar]

Will go on its website on Wednesday to get public feedback

The RFU's consultation survey, information video and draft policy can be found here www.englandrugby.com/about-rfu/rfu-policies/transgender-policy

Fuck sake.

And reasonably safe?

I'm not represented there.
How the fuck would I answer?

@Sillyduckseverywhere

I'm not represented there. How the fuck would I answer?

I answered other - adult female

Oh sorry. I'm an "other"

I will happily contribute to any crowdfund that challenges the RFU's decision to let transwomen (of any height or weight) to play against women. I hope they get their arses sued off before anyone gets hurt.

@Vargas

I will happily contribute to any crowdfund that challenges the RFU's decision to let transwomen (of any height or weight) to play against women. I hope they get their arses sued off before anyone gets hurt.

Me too.

I will too.
I've already donated to fair play for women a few times

jeeez "first question (optional) asking whether you identify as a cis man or cis woman along with Transgender man, Transgender woman or NB"

its a very short survey but there is space to write what you think they should do to ensure fairness and inclusion for all

I said that they were bound by the equality act which allows for single sex spaces including sport and that trans people could play with people of their own sex. I also asked them to consider their duty towards women to ensure fairness, equality and inclusion

Thanks Maud, I’ve completed the survey. There is a free text box where you can unleash your inner Ross Tucker/ Emma Hilton

And I did.

I put woman (female).

I let loose my inner Emma Hilton too!

I listed myself as Other - Woman, which in hindsight is possibly not exactly what I meant

My head is spinning trying to understand how the RFU can say it’s safe for males to play in the women’s game whilst they’re being sued by former male players for head injuries and the resulting brain injuries.

Why not do away with age banded sports too. It is discriminatory that a 19 year odl can not run full force into an 11 year old.
Let heavyweight boxers compete against feather weights.

It all makes perfect sense to ignore physical attributes when playing contact sports, what is the worst that could hapen.

If your feedback calls transwomen men I expect you are going to be dismissed as transphobic and ignored. World rugby have got it right, the advantages from being born male don't go away, and transwomen in women's sport is unfair

Just my 2 pence.

Filled it in thanks for this also wrote in other as I don’t identify with the cis label

I’ve completed it, I am an ex rugby player and the mother of a female rugby player. There is a reason why the sexes split at U11 and also the number of children taking up rugby each year continues to fall because of the perceived risk of injury.

I also said that with World Rugby’s evidence being so compelling, I was surprised that the RFU’s insurer was willing to pass the proposed policy.

Couple of useful links:

www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/09/women-face-double-the-risk-of-concussion-in-sport-mps-told

theconversation.com/why-the-world-rugby-guidelines-banning-trans-athletes-from-the-womens-game-are-reasonable-152178?utm_medium=amptwitter&utm_source=twitter

I'm slightly amused that the RFU think my DH is small enough to play womans rugby... (Except his testosterone levels).
He's completely different shape to a woman of the same size. Shoulders and chest are wider, hips narrower.

He plays rugby. (Or did).

What a shame that RFU and similar bodies aren't taking a really brave stance by saying: you must play on the team of your birth sex, however we will not tolerate bullying and harassment (e.g. men or fans bullying a teammate who chooses to dress like a woman) and here is exactly how we plan to combat that, here is how we will support anyone subjected to such harassment, etc.

Instead it's "let's sweep the problem of bullying gender nonconforming people under the rug by letting them play on the other team." It's a coward's way out.

This is from the Caster Semenya ruling and the Court of Arbitration of Sport. "Accordingly, the purpose of the male-female divide in competitive athletics is not to protect athletes with a female legal sex from having to compete against athletes with a male legal sex. Nor is it to protect athletes with a female gender identity from having to compete against athletes with a male gender identity. Rather, it is to protect individuals whose bodies have developed in a certain way following puberty from having to compete against individuals who, by virtue of their bodies having developed in a different way following puberty, possess certain physical traits that create such a significant performance advantage that fair competition between the two groups is not possible. In most cases, the former group comprises individuals with a female legal sex and a female gender identity, while the latter group comprises individuals with a male legal sex and male gender identity. However, this is not true of all cases. Natural human biology does not map perfectly onto legal status and gender identity. The imperfect alignment between nature, law and identity is what gives rise to the conundrum at the heart of this case.'

I'm actually beyond sad at this stance they've taken. Our oldest learned so much from Rugby and I fell in love with its ethos.

I'm too scared to fall in love with the sport though. DS1 ended up bloodied and bruised more often than I can count. I took him to A&E after games more than once, same happened to his team mates. I actually hated watching him play and stopped going. However, DS1 begged me to attend his last youth match and so I agreed. My arrival coincided with the emergency helicopter transporting a fellow player to the hospital.

But the ethos, the commitment to safety and fair play, the team spirit. Those I loved.

Just before Covid, our youngest was offered a space on a Rugby program. He was keen, but part of the program consisted of teaching the kids about leadership and fair play, and respect and all those things that made the sport so good in my view. And at the same time, they published all this stuff about their commitment to male transgender players having the right to play against female players.

And I thought they cannot possibly teach my child about fair play while they are committed to denying it to women and girls. And I remembered all those injuries in the youth teams - a lot of them serious (broken bones, cracked skulls, injured spines, more concussions than is reasonable) but thankfully all the kids recovered. And I thought but those were injuries playing against evenly matched teams (plenty variation in strength and size even then, especially if a town has more than one team in an age class).

What Rugby England are proposing is insane. It goes against everything the sport stands for.

So we turned down the offer. I cannot believe they really are committed to safety, respect and fair play with all of this going on. It's simply not possible to believe them anymore.

Here's FPFW's commentary, well worth a read:

mobile.twitter.com/fairplaywomen

Thanks andyoldlabour for Jonny Wilkinson comparator. Asked why they were ignoring the mountain of scientific evidence that described the huge physical advantages that a male body has over a female body. Stressed lighter bones, extra concussion risk and asked why they were not using the single sex exemptions as laid down in Equality Act.
Note
There is only the one text box for your opinion. No further questions are asked .